Content may be king. But no one likes to serve a dry and dull ruler. After all, boring content sucks. And we all have been guilty of creating lifeless content that no one wants to read (even us).

Good B2B content marketing is all about serving people with unique, fascinating, and relevant content.

And why is good B2B content marketing important?

However, many B2B companies fail to beat their competition despite having a lot to offer.

The reason?

Their B2B content marketing strategy is lacking robustness.

However, not anymore.

This blog is your personal assistant to help you create killer B2B content, that might just be overkill.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C content marketing?

The main difference between B2C (Business-to-Consumer) and B2B (Business-to-Business) content marketing is glaringly visible in their names- the former is marketing itself to directly reach the final consumer while the latter connects you to other businesses.

This difference in their target audience culminates in a simultaneous difference in the organizational goals of B2B and B2C businesses, and the kind of content produced.

B2C businesses directly target their final consumer, hence their content has to be presented in a personalized fashion, to emotionally connect with its audience.

B2B content, on the other hand, is more technical in nature, and structured in an assertive tone using industry-relevant terminology. It should be ideally loaded with hard data and proven results on how your product or service is value-added for the businesses it is marketed to.

This makes B2B content a tricky terrain for the average Digital Marketing Agency, as optimizing such dry content is challenging to boost traffic and sales.

However, with a pinch of market research and a dash of common sense, it is possible to cook up engaging B2B content without compromising on its no-nonsense ingredient.

Now, let’s explore several effective approaches to crafting exceptional B2B content that will captivate your audience.

Tips to Make B2B Content more engaging

1 Craft a buyer persona

If you want to create engaging B2B content, you need to craft your “ideal reader profile”. Because let’s face it, if you don’t know whom you are writing for, you can never make engaging content in the first place.

A buyer persona is constructed using data and research to create semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers.

You get to focus more on who’s worth focusing on – like qualified prospects. In this way, you can attract high-value customers and leads whom you can retain over time.

Researching your target audience is a great way to create your buyer persona. Try to look for key areas like:

•   Tastes
•   Preferences
•   Likes and dislikes
•   The type of content they enjoy
•   Age group
•   Location
•   Gender

Try to put yourself into the shoes of your reader, and already 50% of your work is done. This is also where a Digital Marketing Agency can step in. They can create content that advertises your brand and business and also complements it with the occasional trending content that your audience is enjoying.

2 Real-life examples

Imagine you are a tiny droplet in an ocean of competitors. Now, all other droplets are trying to create the most engaging content they can.

How do you stand out?

You give real-life examples. Examples of how corporations, big or small, managed to create killer content.

Without real-life examples you are just another company trying to preach.

Give examples of case studies, screenshots, and other proofs of what you are trying to convey. This establishes the credibility of your statements.

3 Offbeat Content Formats

If you can’t experiment with the constituents of your B2B content, then find a way to experiment with the format of the content you create.

Below are some great ways to showcase your content in offbeat formats.

• Infographics

For instance, blogs and articles are known to be a sure source of leads in the content line. The safe players can revamp their B2B blogs to become more engaging- by adding bar graphs and pie charts to visualize the statistical data, or by adding other relevant images and GIFs with appropriate alt-text.

• Podcasts

For the more daring, there is the option of trying out a different format of content altogether- like podcasts, which became a marketer’s favorite during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Podcasts possess the potential to break the monotony of textual content, without compromising on the details that B2B content demands. For instance, the social engagement suite Oktopost’s podcast ‘Behind the Post with Olivia Messina’ brings one reputed social media manager every week to discuss the effective use of such platforms in the B2B space.

• Youtube

Starting a YouTube channel is another way of presenting your content in an engaging video format. A good full-service Marketing Agency will be able to deliver quality B2B content in any such offbeat format.

4 Thought-Leadership Style Content

A thought leader ideally has the double validation of years of industry experience and wide recognition from his peers. Creating a thought-leadership style of content in the form of original opinion pieces on industry trends or white papers on contested topics enhances your business’ credibility- a crucial parameter for growing and sustaining B2B relationships.

Thought-leadership style of content establishes your business’ credibility.

An example of this can be marketing expert Neil Patel using his plethora of knowledge and experience to educate aspiring marketers through his blogs and articles, as well as sell his SEO software Ubersuggest to other marketing agencies and businesses through the same.

5 Industry collaboration

It helps to have other people affirm your views on a particular topic. This reinforces your credibility on a particular topic and also establishes your thought leadership.

You can try to get other industry experts specializing in the same field as you to collaborate on your article. You can have a “round-up” section on your blog where different industry experts come together to provide their expert opinions.

Industry collaboration gives you a variety of perspectives to display to your audience.

You can also have a section where you insert inputs to a particular question you have asked other people from the industry. Thus you get a variety of perspectives to display to your audience and actually grab their attention to your content.

6 Structured content

No one likes to read unorganised content. Therefore, it is essential to strive for a structured approach when writing your content.

Structured content is information that is divided into small, organized parts so that both computers and humans can easily understand it.

A basic example of structured content is one that is broken down into a table of contents, headings, subheadings, and even smaller subheadings.

The main benefit of writing content in a structured manner is improved accessibility and usability. When content is broken down into smaller, organized pieces, it becomes easier for both humans and computers to understand and process.

7 Write “bookmarkable” content

The B2B target audience is different from their B2C counterparts in the sense that they cannot be convinced into making impulsive or emotional purchases.

B2B content has to be carefully crafted and marketed to sustain a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship between businesses.

And the best way is by creating value-laden content like how-to guides, manuals, and video tutorials. Answering popular queries of businesses in your industry can help initiate a relationship with them- a stepping stone for ultimately closing deals with them. In this way, your readers will want to bookmark and save your content for later use.

You want to create content that has actionable instructions, rather than just subjective theories.

A full-service Marketing Agency will be able to provide a range of value-laden content to aid your B2B marketing.

8 Choose your distribution channels

Creating great content is only half the battle won. The next half lies in promoting it.

And the good news?

There is an abundance of channels available to successfully promote your content. The key lies in discovering the one that suits your needs and yields optimal results.

• Social media

84% of B2B executives use social media for making purchasing decisions.

Thus, Social Media Marketing on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok generates ample leads and revenue for B2C brands.

Moreover, leading digital business analyst George Zeidan has confirmed that 80% of B2B leads are generated through LinkedIn.

• Webinars

A content format that was popularised by the pandemic, webinars have the obvious advantage of easy lead capture as people voluntarily sign up for such events. Preserving the e-mail addresses or other contact details of webinar attendees is also a smart way of building marketing leads lists.

Incorporating interactive elements like in-session polls and Q&As in your live webinar is also a good way of making your webinar content engaging.

• Press Releases

This good old marketing tool is particularly effective in increasing leads and conversions for B2B ventures owing to its official nature, which adds credibility to the companies advertised on such platforms.

• Email marketing

Email marketing has stood the test of time as a reliable approach for engaging with both individual consumers and business customers. Moreover, it boasts a high ROI – a whopping $36 for every $1 spent!

Other distribution channels include virtual events, guest posting, influencer marketing, among others.

9 Create a content calendar

Now, it’s time to consolidate all your research findings and transform your content marketing plans into a comprehensive, well-documented strategy. And your best friend for this – A content marketing calendar.

A content calendar can do so much for you, from outlining your goals, researching keywords, to determining publishing dates and assigning writers.

Some key areas where a content calendar may help you are:

•   Enhancing organization and maintaining focus
•   Preventing last-minute rushes and ensuring timely execution
•   Allowing ample time for brainstorming and ideation
•   Sustaining consistent publishing schedules
•   Streamlining the writing process for greater efficiency
•   Providing a holistic view of the overall strategy
•   Facilitating collaboration among team members
•   Identifying areas that require improvement or adjustments

10 Track your success

It is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of your B2B content marketing strategy. Otherwise, your B2B content marketing efforts will be fruitless.

Over 60% of marketers measure their content marketing success.

Measuring your strategy makes sure you stay on track and fulfil your B2B marketing objectives. Some key indicators to look out for when you are measuring your success are:

•   Revenue – subscriptions, downloads, sales
•   Brand awareness in terms of page views, visitors, activity on social media
•   Retention metrics like bounce rates, time on page, etc.
•   Engagement like likes, retweets, blog shares, comments

To maintain a continuous assessment of your performance, it is advisable to conduct evaluations on a quarterly or monthly basis.

Remember, it’s important not to be discouraged if you don’t meet your goals initially. The focus should be on continuous improvement.

Final Thoughts

Master the art of captivating your B2B audience with these invaluable expert tips. By implementing these strategies, you can transform your content into a compelling force that resonates deeply with your target market.

Engage your audience on a whole new level and unlock the potential for greater connections, conversions, and business growth.

Nico Digital, a leading Digital Marketing Agency, excels in serving B2C and B2B clients.

With our expertise and customized marketing campaigns, we have successfully enhanced engagement and sales for numerous businesses. Let us do the same for you!